Stanford's Kris Koblik angles for a goal in the fourth quarter of play against UCLA in the NCAA Championship match at Stanford University on Sunday, May 13, 2001. UCLA won the match 5 - 4. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle)

Photo: CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ

Stanford's Kris Koblik angles for a goal in the fourth quarter of...

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The Stanford waterpolo team reacts to their NCAA Championship loss as time runs out in their match against Stanford University at Stanford on Sunday, May 13, 2001. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle)

The Stanford women's water-polo team got the ball into the right hands in the final minute of play.

Brenda Villa, the Cardinal's leading scorer, spun away from her defender and for a split second looked as if she had a potential game-tying shot at 2 meters. But the UCLA defense closed in around her, Villa was submerged and the ball popped loose and into the hands of Bruins goalie Jamie Hipp.

And with the ball went Stanford's undefeated season and its dreams of winning the first NCAA-sanctioned women's water-polo championship. Hipp's find preserved a 5-4 victory for UCLA yesterday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.

"I hoped to get a better handle on (the ball)," said Villa, the 2000 U.S. Olympian who had a team-high 69 goals for Stanford this season. "I guess I should have just shot the ball and not rely on anything else."

Villa might have been fouled on the play, but there was no whistle, nor any protests from Stanford, as UCLA ran down the final seconds of the match.

"Brenda made a nice spin move," said Stanford coach John Tanner, whose team finished at 27-1. "At the end of the game you won't necessarily get the call."

The Cardinal played catch-up for most of the game. They took a 1-0 lead at the 4:24 mark of the first period on the first of two goals by Villa. UCLA responded with three consecutive goals for a 3-1 lead, and took a 4-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

Stanford tied the game on Margie Dingeldein's goal off a feed from Kris Koblik with 3:27 remaining in the game. Two minutes later, UCLA gained the final advantage thanks to a defensive breakdown by the Cardinal.

Stanford was on the attack but was called for an offensive foul. UCLA's offensive transition caught the Cardinal's defenders off guard.

Captain Coralie Simmons, a teammate of Villa's on the Olympic team, broke away from the pack to receive a long pass. She stood at the front of the goal one-on-one against Stanford goalie Jackie Frank and looked to be doing a little dance before firing cleanly to the right side of the net for her second goal.

"I surprised myself," said Simmons on being so wide-open. "The defender dropped off me unexpectedly, probably thinking somebody else would pick me up. That was a great pass from Hipp. Jackie put up a good fight. It took me a couple of fakes, five or six. Whatever it takes."

Said Tanner, "We worried so much about getting a goal to win the game. Sometimes you can overcommit on offense. The offensive foul cost us the game. It gave them a 4-2 advantage the other way. They did a nice job converting it."

UCLA, the No. 2 seed now owns the inaugural NCAA title, but it had also captured four of the past five collegiate championships, which were not NCAA- sanctioned. Nonetheless, the Bruins came into this weekend as underdogs after losing four times to No. 1 seed Stanford in the regular season.

UCLA used Stanford's perfect record, as well as a few other things, to its advantage.